Friday, September 30, 2011

On my 21st birthday I moved into my new apartment for my senior year at Texas Tech and there was a girl STILL LIVING there. Yep. I swear, these things only happen to me. Imagine my dismay when I twist my shiny new key into my brand spanking new (to me) apartment door and a girl is in a towel, doing her laundry and getting ready for work.

Excuse me mam, but don't let me interrupt you.

You see, what happened was ...

The apartment complex failed to tell this girl what day I was moving in so she had not moved out yet. Just a huge, hot mess. I had a moving truck with movers waiting to move all my stuff into an apartment still OCCUPIED. We had to pile everything in the living room and wait for this girl to move out the next day. I mean ... really?

Since she had to rush to get all of her stuff out, she did not clean one thing and I had to move into her filthy apartment. I found her weave in my closet and I don't think the girl had ever used a vacuum a day in her life. Not to mention she left a HUGE grease stain on the wall where her head touched it while laying in bed.

This is the stain after scrubbing and painting over that wall. It was disgust and I wish I could tell you this is a joke, but it's not.

Oh, welcome to your new greasy ass room.

You may be wondering why I'm telling you this story. Basically because I wanted to! But also because I start moving into the townhouse today and I've been reminded how much I absolute hate moving. Like literally I think it may be the worst thing on Earth. Then I'm reminded it could always be worse. At least I'm not moving into a greasy room.

So while y'all are out living it up this weekend toasting to the good life, I'll be slaving away moving into my new lair. I can promise you I will not be looking anything like this. Who does this Martha Stewart beotch think she is? This is not real life and I will NOT be smiling.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

If you've been following for a while, it's no secret that I love me some e.l.f. Understatement, right?

And it's been far too long since I've dished on e.l.f. goodies, which is an outrage especially since recently e.l.f. let me pick out some new merch to try. Oh, did I mention that I get to give some of it away to you bargainistas?! Yep, it's true. Early Merry Christmas to you!

I'll get to how you can win some of my favorite products in a sec, but first, allow me to introduce you to my latest loves. It was almost impossible to pick my top 3, but after much deliberation, these have to be it::

1. First up we have my current brush obsession. The $3 e.l.f. studio stipple brush, which can be used with wet or dry make-up.

Personally, I've only used this with liquid foundation and I heart it. It's perfect for blending and building from sheer to full depending on the occasion. My skin is not the best, and this brush helps me cover my flaws effortlessly.

In all my pics from my Vegas recap post, I used this brush to apply my foundation. Tell me I don't look good. I'm definitely, TOTALLY kidding! But really, it does a fab job and like all their brushes, is high end quality for CHEAP.

2. Next, we have e.l.f.'s $3 Studio Cream Eyeliner in black. Two words: I die.

And I'm not the only one who can vouch for this bomb eye shadow: PLL and Carol are also big fans. Last night when I told Carol I was doing an e.l.f. review post she said and I quote ...

"I love the e.l.f. creme eye liner more than I love pizza. Maybe not as much as pizza, but It beats the shiz out of my Make Up Forever one for the price."

In fact, a few of my friends borrowed mine this weekend while we were getting ready in Veeehguuus and loved it as well. So don't just take my word for it. This stuff is LEGIT. It goes on super smooth with that brush it comes with, is jet black and it actually stays put. Highly, highly recommend and I'm an eyeliner snob.

3. And last but not least, I've got to give props to the $3 e.l.f. studio bronzer in warm.

Bronzer is tricky, and I've devoted an entire post about this subject that you can read here. You can end up looking too orange or muddy if you aren't careful, but this shade is just right and diz-uh, so is the price. This particular bronzer gives a great natural, sun kissed look for pasty pale beotches like me. What are you waiting for? It's fall and time to get your bronzer on!

If you want to order anything online, there is free shipping for orders over $25 until Oct 3 using the code SHIP25. You're welcome.

OK ....

Now that you've acquainted yourselves with my latest loves, it's time to reveal what's in the GIVEAWAY! Seven is supposed to be lucky, so here are 7 of my favorite e.l.f. products that I've hand picked just for y'all:

2. You have to leave me a comment telling what 3 make-up products you would wear if you could only wear 3 and were going to have dinner with one of my 2 fave Ryans: Ryan Reynoldsor Ryan Gosling(or whoever tickles your fancy).Only 3 (they can be anything)! Now go.

You have until midnight tomorrow to enter and you only need to leave one comment.

Open to U.S. and International residents!

Good luck! May the best bargainista win.

p.s. If you want to tweet, blog or facebook this giveaway, I won't stop you! *wink*

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Surprise, surprise ladies: Las Vegas did not disappoint! Let's get this recap started, shall we? And it's a long one, so hold tight.

Maybe we should start with the fact that my BFF Liz and I almost missed our flight because we were too busy sipping on margaritas at an airport bar to be bothered to know our plane was boarding until we heard "last call for Vegas flight 1895." We both looked at each other in disbelief, grabbed our carry ons and started running through the long ass terminal.

Mind you, I was in 4 inch wedges, a strapless maxi dress, had a hanging bag filled with dresses on one arm and a carry on that weighs more than my nephew on the other. We were a sight to say the least, and literally got to the gate right before they closed the doors. Lesson learned.

The first night we were in Vegas we went back to Kristina's house (the bride lives in Vegas) and chatted, showered and called it a night. The next day we had a late breakfast, ran errands and then headed to The Strip to check into our free suite @ Bally's. Definitely not the newest or nicest hotel in Vegas, but it was free and it was a suite so I'm not complaining. Welcome to our 1980's Dynasty Suite:

We got situated in the room, put on our faces and headed out to dinner at BLT Burger in the Mirage.

My turkey burger and fries were so tasty. I definitely recommend this place if you want a juicy burger in Vegas! You need to coat your belly before all that booze and this is the perfect place to do it.

(L to R) Jane, Kristina, Liz, moi obvs, Lesley

Quick stop at Sugar Factory in the Mirage before heading out for the night:

Then we headed to Surrender @ Encorewhere we had a comped table thanks to Lesley, the brides future sister-in-law. Lesley is also a Vegas local and got us hooked-up the entire weekend! Seriously don't know what we would have done without her. The bride-to be enjoying a bevy. Veil from Michael's and bedazzled by Liz and I.

At Surrender I had my second blate (blog+date) when I met these two Vegas locals you may know: Ashleigh and Katy! They were so sweet and gorgeous! I'm so glad we got to meet up girls!

We weren't out too entirely late this night because we had to get up for some breakfast:

and head out to our cabana at Encore Beach Club, which was literally the. best. time. ever. We had a shaded cabana with a couch, a huge bed to sun on, and 2 servers literally waiting on us hand and foot. If you go to Vegas during pool season, this is an absolute must. Our favorite day by far. Just look at our shenans:

Dance, dance revolution.

Liz and I with our awesome cabana boy, Brett. He was sooo much fun.

Rawwrrrr ... photo shoot on the day bed.

Besties since middle school!

We were tore up from the floor up after a day in the cabana, but obviously we put ourselves together because we had to make dinner at Wolfgang Puck's Pizzeria (to die) and a very important date with some Aussies in a show by the name of Thunder From Down Under. I've already told y'all, but I feel the need to say it again: the show is worth every penny. Go.

What transpired after the show is kind of a blur and I didn't take any pics. Well, I did, but I can't show you those. Let's just say I ended up locked out of my room at 5 a.m. and was found laying on the floor eating a turkey sandwich and chips. The blog world doesn't need to see that and neither does my mom. Hi Mom! You raised me well.

Sunday we had brunch at Mon Ami Gabi at the Paris Hotel. Again, food was phenom. We were still a little hazy from the night before and were laughing so loud that tables kept staring. Check out our baked cheese app and deelish desserts. Um, yes!

This post is getting entirely too long, so I swear I'm almost done. Sunday night we had a girls night at Kristina's house, which consisted of her lingerie shower, tipsy sherades and we watched the movie Bridesmaids (hilar).

Successful bachelorette party if I do say so myself. I was sad to leave, but I'll be back in November for another friend's bachy party and again in Feb for Kristina's wedding! My liver is already preparing. Vegas, I love you.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

... that I'm baaaackkkk and survived 5 days in Vegas! I'm just popping in to say hello and tell you I'm alive! I have an ungodly amount of e-mails in my inbox I must tend to before I can give you a thorough rundown of Kristina's Bachelorette Weekend. I promise there are plenty of fun pics to share and I may even tell a story. Like maybe the one about how I got locked out of our suite at 5 a.m. and was found laying in the hallway eating a turkey sangwich and chips??

Until then, I will leave you with this picture of us from Friday in our cabana at Encore Beach Club. Best. time. ever. Yes, that's me "rawring" like a tiger. I blame one too many bloody marys.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

I had every intention of doing a fun recap of past Vegas trips for y'all before I left for my bestie Kristina's 5 Day Bachelorette Party Weekend extraordinaire in Sin City. Butttt ... thanks to a Mystic tanning sesh, a CVS run, Target trip, bridesmaid dress pick-up, lingerie store stop and last minute packing till 2 a.m., I didn't get around to a proper pre-Vegas post for you ladies. Please forgive.

Instead, I present you with this consolation prize. Here is a pic of the 2 of us in middle school at the San Diego Zoo. As if the short jean overalls weren't bad enough, I topped that look off with a snazzy fisherman hat over my mushroom cut. You know you grew up in the 90s if ...

you ever rocked a smiliar look.

Included in my busy night last night was an almost panic attack when my Driver's License decided to play a little game of hide and seek with me. I found it eventually, but this is beginning to get ridiculous. I need to get my life in order.

In the meantime, I promise to keep you updated on all of our shenans via my Twitter account. If you don't follow, you better get on it. I can guarantee you there will be some entertaining tweets to be read & pics to be seen.

As soon as our flight takes off tonight and the flight attendant makes her first round, I will have a frosty bevy in hand. Wanna know how I know this trip is going to be good? Yesterday we got our hotel suite comped. Uh, yes please. I can't believe I'll be walking stumbling down the gorgeous strip soon. Eeeeeep!

(May or may not be my 3rd time to see this show and uh, these Aussies NEVER get old! If you go to Vegas with all your lady friends, this is a must. You will be transformed when you walk into the room. Just trust me.)

Booze

Pool Time

(You'll find me in the cabana w/ my big floppy hat and cover up on. The sun and I don't get along.)

Shop

(Hello the Forum Shops at Caesars)

Club it up

Booze

Eat a lot maybe throw a fancy din din in the mix

Fly back hungover hating my life

If my calculations are correct, this will be my 7th trip to Vegas. It is seriously my favorite place ever. I have loved it from the moment I stepped off my first flight and walked into the slot machine filled airport. The energy in Vegas is like none other and the people watching is phenom. Remind me to tell y'all the story of the drunk motorized scooter guy who toppled off the sidewalk and onto Las Vegas Blvd.

I cannot believe how many of you have told me you have never been to Vegas (unconstitutional!) or are about to go for the first time and need recommendations. When I return, I will write a "Bargain Blonde's Guide to Vegas" post with my favorite spots and to-dos.

The love of Vegas must be in my blood. My Grandparents were hardcore Vegas travelers so I know of a few hidden gems like the Peppermill ... Holly Madison's fave as well. Last time we were there they were filming her show and asked if we wanted to be extras in the scene. Um, as much as I love to just stand around in Vegas, no thanks. I've got some roulette to play.

I only packed 9 pairs of shoes this time and 10 or so dresses. I consider that an accomplishment. Don't you? All righty, I'll catch you bargainistas on the flip side. VIVA LAS VEGAS! #ihopeidon'tdie

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Y'all. I'm currently in panic mode. "Why?" you ask? Well, let's just take a look see at my current confessions and I'm sure you'll understand why.

I confess that I leave for Vegas tomorrow yet have not packed or bought one thing that I needed to. Literally I do not have one dress to wear. I guess I'll just go naked. Public nudity is legal in Vegas, right?

I confess that I lost my check card on Friday, cancelled it yesterday and oh ... what do you know? Some lady found it in the bathroom at work today. Awesome. Nothing like traveling to Vegas with a temporary check card with withdrawl limits on it. FML.

I confess that I thought I lost my most prized posession aka this make-up bag and almost starting planning its memorial. I have been looking everywhere for my baby, but finally have located its whereabouts. I'll just add retrieving my make-up bag to my long list of to-do's I must get done before tomorrow.

I confess that I look homeless and like I've never seen a washing machine because my wrong color foundation (since my make-up bag was missing) exploaded all over my black pencil skirt this morning. Nothing like starting your morning off with a nice big make-up stain on your skirt.

I confess that I have never been more relieved that I have 2 DVRs for this week of ridiculous TV. I'm also stressed about catching up on all these shows in between traveling and moving. What are you most looking forward to watching this season? I think Pan Am tops my list.

Now do you see why I'm a little stressed out and in panic mode? All my own doing, of course. I suppose instead of confessing, I should get moving. Off to frantically shop for some Vegas dresses during lunch. Wish me luck.

p.s. I'm guest blogging over at Keep It Classy, Alabama today. I found THE cutest gameday dresses that are affordable! Go check them out and be sure to tell my namesake "hi!"

Monday, September 19, 2011

It's your favorite Aunt here ... Aunt Lindsey, of course. I cannot believe you turned 4-years-old on Saturday! From the moment you were born, I've loved you more than I knew was possible. Here I am holding you for the first time. You were the most beautiful, perfect baby I had ever laid eyes on.

I never knew when you were growing in your Mommy's belly that you would be the best thing that's ever happened to me. You were the happiest baby, always giggling and showing off your big blue eyes and presh dimples. You totally should have been a Gerber baby and made your Aunt rich.

You didn't like to sleep through the night though, which reminded me I was not ready for babies until at least I was 35. As time often does, it flew by. Before we knew it, you were celebrating your 1st birthday in style as a pirate ... Arghhhhh!

Then your 2nd ...

Your 3rd ...

And on Sunday, we celebrated your fourth at Chuck E Cheese aka your heaven. You were the most handsome little spidey we'd ever seen. You played some football:

Thursday, September 15, 2011

This little blog of minewon CBS Dallas' Most ValuableBlogger in the Lifestyle category! I cannot say THANK YOU enough for all of the support I received from you, my lovely readers, my friends, family and people that didn't even know me who voted! I appreciate each and every one of you so very much.

A special shout out to all of you that tweeted, facebooked and blogged about this for me. I still can't believe I actually won, but I suppose CBS wouldn't play a prank on me. So here it is, my blue winning virtual ribbon. Check out this little diddy that I'll cherish forevs:

Now that you got a proper thank you, let's go over some things I'm currently loving. It's been way too long since I dished on some faves:

1. I love that I was having my first ever "No Heels Allowed Happy Hour" with Patty at my apartment last night when I found out I won. If you missed this post, go here and you can read how to host your own No Heels HH. I made us a meat and cheese tray with assorted crackers, Feta stuffed green olives, Dijon stone ground mustard and my new favorite drink concoction (see #2 for details).

Get in my belly! This is so much better than paying for over priced glasses of wine at your nearest watering hole. I'd much rather kick off my heels, plop on the couch in PINK VS sweats and catch up with my bestie from the comfort of my humble abode. Wouldn't you?

2. So whenever I pick up my favorite bottle of value-sized Riesling at my corner 711 (you read correctly), I always stick it in the freezer to quickly speed up the chilling process. I normally put a few cubes of ice in my first glass to cool it off, but the ice melts and waters down my wine. Yuck, me no likey!

Well Bs, I had a stroke of genius and added frozen sliced strawberries and frozen raspberries to it to keep it cool with out watering it down. Plus they add a great flavor. Try it then thank me later. I'm loving this concoction!

3. I love that I am the proud new owner of my very first pair of Hunter Wellies! This is basically the best thing that has happened to me all week (other than winning CBS MVB, of course) Gilt {dot} com has tons of Hunter boots on sale online until Saturday. I almost got the pink, but ultimately went with the pearl white.

They were $89 instead of $145 and I think they'll look gorgy in the white snow. You know, because it snows all the time in Texas. If you want a pair, hurry up because these boots are going fast! Go here.

4. And how much do I love my Raven and Caroline?? Let me count the ways. For one, they sure know a way to this blonde's heart. Obviously that's through eye make-up. Raven hooked me up with an Urban Decay Naked eye shadow palette and DIOR mascara! I'm fancy now, y'all!

By the way ... if you're thinking, "The hell?!? But your birthday was in August?" ... I thought the same thing. Why has this trick NOT sent me a birthday present yet? She claimed it was out of stock on Sephora online so it was on back order, yadda, yadda, yadda ... I believe her. I guess. Just kidding boo! I love you for being so sweet and thoughtful and treating me to these splurges. This present was well worth the wait!

Now #crazycatlady Caroline ... that little hussy. She surprised me with my favorite beauty product of all time. Like I'm not joking, I will go to Ulta's headquarters and stage a sit-in if they ever discontinue their Automatic Eyeliner. How lovely of her to send me some along with a little NARS primer. Be still my heart.

5. And last but not least, I'm loving that I caved and bought a Missoni for Target travel neck pillow. No I did not wear it driving all the way home and no I was not sitting on my couch wearing it during No Heels HH. OK, I was.

I almost got a few other things, but controlled myself. All I really want is this throw, but that is out of stock every where. Did y'all scoop up any Missoni for Target? If so, what and what do you think of it? I was not blown away.

OK Bargainistas, that is all for now. See you back here tomorrow same time, same place. Thank you again! I can't say it enough. XOXO